


Sun Burns Down

by elfin (crazylittleelf)



Series: FringeTrek [14]
Category: Fringe, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen, Mash-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-02-25
Packaged: 2018-01-13 16:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1232968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazylittleelf/pseuds/elfin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things come to a head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sun Burns Down

**Author's Note:**

> Follows [Event Horizon](http://archiveofourown.org/works/872151) by Kerithwyn.

Olivia Dunham stood on the viewing deck of Starbase 32, gazing through the clearsteel windows at the USS _William Bell_. Her hands were clasped behind her back and she stood at parade rest. The view showed the graceful curve of the station's outer docking ring and the multitude of ships held there, all waiting to be cleared for release following the attack on the starbase. Her eyes were drawn to one ship in particular, and she savored the chance to admire her ship from afar.

Even over the noise of the public shuttle terminal, Olivia heard footsteps running toward her and smiled as she turned.

"Aunt Liv!"

She scooped the little girl up and hugged her tightly. Olivia gave her harried-looking sister a sympathetic smile over Ella's shoulder.

"Our ship'll start boarding in a few minutes," Rachel said.

Olivia nodded and kissed the top of Ella's head. "Gonna miss you, baby girl."

"I'll miss you, too." Ella sighed. "I don't want to leave."

Olivia said, "The Vega Colony is nice and you'll make lots of friends there."

"I like my friends _here_."

"Sometimes we have to go places that we don't want to, but we have to go anyway. You just have to be brave, okay? And help your mom, because it's a new place for her, too."

Ella nodded. "Okay, Aunt Liv."

"I don't like leaving you like this," Rachel said. "It feels like throwing you to the wolves."

Olivia smiled and pulled Rachel into to hug. "I'll be fine. The worst they can do is court martial me and lock me in prison for the rest of my life."

"That's not funny, Liv..."

"Sorry. It'll be fine. I promise."

The Starbase's public address system sounded a pleasant chime, then announced boarding at shuttle dock eleven.

"That's us," Rachel said.

Olivia let Ella slide to the ground and crouched in front of her. She fished in her pocket a moment before bringing out a necklace. She settled it around Ella's neck. 

Ella looked down at the tiny Starfleet Command insignia hanging from the chain and said, "Wow." She looked up at Olivia with wide eyes. "Thanks, Aunt Liv."

Rachel hugged her sister and whispered, "Be careful."

"I will."

*****

The administrative sections of the Starbase were no less busy than the public areas. Ships had been held in port for days during the aftermath of the attack, with more waiting in a holding pattern to dock. Now that the hold was lifted, the station was doubly busy.

Olivia dodged around workers and stepped into a small lounge where Angela Warner was listening raptly to one of John Scott's stories. Olivia bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning, but not quite quick enough to keep John from seeing her amusement. He blushed and cleared his throat. Angela started to stand, but Olivia waved her down and sank into one of the chairs.

"I kept things locked down as long as I could," Angela said.

Olivia nodded. "I appreciate it."

John said, "We transferred the shuttle and all of the data on the attack to the _Bell_. I figure your crew has the best chance of finding out what happened there, given their talents."

Angela looked curious and was starting to say something when Olivia's comm chirped.

" _Bell_ to Captain Dunham."

"Dunham here."

"We're preparing for departure, sir."

"On my way. Dunham out."

She looked up at John's somber face. "Time to face the music."

"Be careful, Olivia."

"I will."

"Keep me posted as best you can," John said. We'd go with you but something's come up in Sector 23." He frowned. "Something that feels a lot like getting us out of the way. Liv, none of this feels right."

"I know," Olivia said, standing. "Commander Warner, it was nice meeting you despite the circumstances."

"Same."

Olivia left the lounge and stepped into a designated transport area. She flipped open her comm. 

"Dunham to the _Bell_. One to beam over."

*****

The corridors of the _William Bell_ thrummed with crew members making ready for the ship's departure. Lincoln Lee dodged around a yeoman carrying an armful of datatapes and waved off the stammered apology. Lincoln didn't need Nick's empathy to feel the nervousness that coursed through the ship's crew.

He stepped into a blessedly empty turbolift and requested the bridge, taking the few quiet moments to order his thoughts. The lift slid to a halt after only one level, and the door opened to the ship's Chief Engineer.

Lincoln shook his head. "Shouldn't you be working?"   
Peter Bishop stepped into the turbolift and scowled. "Shouldn't all of us be doing something to keep her from getting caught out in this witch hunt?"

"You don't know that's what will happen."

Peter's glare turned withering.

"Fine, but what are we supposed to do?" Lincoln asked. "We can't just... not go to Earth."

"There are plenty of places that aren't Earth," Peter said.

Lincoln turned to Peter. "Do you really think she'd run?"

Peter snarled and slammed his fist into the wall. The turbolift shuddered under the force of the blow.

"Commander." Lincoln waited until Peter looked at him. "Until someone says otherwise, she is our captain, and we will comply with our captain's orders. Do I make myself clear?"

"And if she isn't?"

Lincoln took a slow breath. He reached out and caught Peter's fist in his hands, uncurling his fingers and frowning at the bruises that were already forming on Peter's knuckles. Peter winced at the contact. "We'll deal with that if it happens. Right now we follow orders and get her ship ready to depart. Understood?"

"Yes. Sir."

"Good. Go to sickbay and let Stanton set your hand, then get back to Engineering."

*****

Activity on the bridge was in full swing when Lincoln exited the turbolift. Ann Mathis nodded at him and rose from the command chair as he crossed the bridge.

"The bridge is all yours, Commander."

"Thank you." Lincoln opened a comm channel from the command chair's console. "All hands to departure stations."

At the helm and navigation stations, Henry Higgins and Simon Phillips stopped chatting and turned their attention to their duties. Behind him Astrid's voice called out various system checks with the ship's departments. All eyes flicked to the turbolift when Olivia stepped out.

Lincoln rose, never taking his eyes off of her and said, "Captain on the bridge."

Brief annoyance at the usually-neglected formality flickered over her face before she smiled.

"As you were," Olivia said, crossing to the center of the bridge. "Status?"

"All departments report ready," Astrid said.

Lincoln looked over the data streaming across the screen of his PADD and said, "All systems ready. Course charted and we've been cleared to leave port."

Olivia nodded and took a moment to steady her nerves before she opened a ship-wide comm. "All hands, this is the captain. Now departing Starbase 32 for Earth."

She closed the comm and said, "Mr. Higgins. Take us home."

******

Alf Tanzer twisted in the narrow relay junction where he was wedged to squint over his shoulder. His pale hair nearly glowed in the lights that were directed into the junction box. He shrugged. "We could increase the variance of the emitters and run a counter set routing to take advantage of the increased clearance."

"Preposterous," Zhevaar jav Tek huffed. "The increased collisions would negate any gains." The Tellarite patted Tanzer's shoulder with his hoof-like hand. "It was a good idea, though."

Peter Bishop looked at his computer expert and asked, "Is there a way to compensate for the variance?"

Akim Okonkwo looked thoughtful. "Maybe. I'd have to run some simulations."

"You run simulations now?" Zhevaar asked, laughing.

Akim shrugged. "After the Botany Lab thing? Yeah. Seems wise."

"You could use a particle flow distributor along with a modified isolinear phase inducer to regulate the variance into a non-random pattern to decrease the collisions," James Falcon said from behind them. "I could help Lieutenant jav Tek set it up, if you'd like."

The other four turned to stare at him for a long moment, shocked.

Zhevaar blinked a few times. "That's very helpful, Mr. Falcon. Thank you."

"We could probably do something similar with the impulse relays, Peter. I can help you run simulations on it some time."

"Oooookay," Peter said. "I'll, uh, keep that in mind."

"Great. Great."

Peter glanced at Tanzer who just shrugged at the unexpected help.

"That'll wrap things up. I'll be up upstairs for a while in a staff meeting. Emergencies only." He looked around the room. "All right. Get back to work."

Peter frowned at Falcon's back as he went to his office without argument. Alf brushed the knees of his uniform off and looked after Falcon.

"Weirdness all around," Alf said.

"Tell me about it. I'm serious about emergencies only. I don't expect this meeting to be very fun."

Alf looked up at him, his shaggy white eyebrows drawn together in concern. "How bad is it really?" 

"Not sure yet." Peter shook his head. "Won't be good, though." He looked at the open door to Falcon's office. "Keep an eye on things down here."

Alf nodded. "Right. Make sure she knows we have her back, okay? I think sometimes she forgets that."

*****

Olivia looked around her ready room at the concerned faces of her staff. Frank Stanton was watching her carefully, trying, she was sure, to gauge how little sleep and food his captain was running on. Peter and Charlie Francis were leaning toward each other speaking quietly. Brandon Fayette was staring at his PADD, darting quick glances up at Olivia every so often. Nick Lane was radiating calm from the other end of the table, but Olivia could feel the undercurrent of worry through their connection to each other. Milo Stanfield tapped away at his PADD, frowning at whatever he saw. Lincoln stared down at the surface of the table.

She wasted no time.

"It will take six days to reach Earth. There wasn't a priority code on our orders, so we're not pushing the engines. I want to maintain as normal a routine as possible. I understand, though, that the circumstances of our recall will be causing anxiety among the crew. Do your best to reassure them, but I don't want this to be a mystery to anyone. I want to be as open as possible about this."

Lincoln shook his head sharply. "We don't _know_ anything. They didn't give a reason for our orders."

"There's only one reason this ship would suddenly be recalled to Earth," Olivia said.

"That's not technically true," Brandon said. "There's a lot... of..." He trailed off sadly.

"I appreciate your confidence, but I think we need to be realistic about the situation," Olivia said.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Charlie asked.

She looked down at the surface of the table. The faces of her crew were worried when she looked up at them.

"I think the best-case scenario is that I'll be formally reprimanded. I don't believe that given the current political climate my actions will be excused."

"And the worst?" Brandon asked, words muffled as he chewed on his thumbnail.

"I'll be arrested and court martialed for violating the Prime Directive." The silence around the table was heavy. Olivia continued, "If that happens, the _Bell_ will almost certainly be recommissioned under a different registry and all hands will be reassigned. I am sincerely sorry that my actions have put everyone on this ship in this position."   
"Captain," Charlie interrupted. "None of us regret anything."

"And we're jumping to conclusions anyway," Nick said. "There's no reason to borrow trouble."

There were murmurs of agreement around the table.

Olivia blinked against the stinging in her eyes and looked at her crew. "Thank you." She cleared her throat and said, "For now, keep to our regular routines, answer any questions that come up as best you can, and let me know if there's any way that I can assist. Dismissed."

*****

Peter circled the charred remains for the shuttle that had been placed in one of the cargo bays. One the other side Amy Jessup thumbed through images on her PADD.

"The blast pattern is different from the other explosions that happened on the starbase," she said. "Other than the timing, it doesn't appear to be related at all."

Thomas Kashner stepped gingerly into the center of the wreckage and set up an scanning system. "It definitely originated from inside the shuttle," he said, half to himself.

"Why aren't there any records of the shuttle?" Amy asked. "How did it even get on the station?"

"One of the shapeshifters must have arranged for it to be brought station-side. I've set up a search of the security logs and footage, but I seriously doubt we'll find anything. They're good at covering their tracks," Peter said.

Kashner looked up from his PADD. "It was hot."

Jessup made a face. "Explosions usually are."

"No, before the explosions. The interior structure shows signs of extreme temperatures."

"Huh," Peter said.

"Just out of curiosity, why aren't any of the Cortexiphan subjects helping with the examination?" Amy asked.

Kashner's eyes went wide and he disappeared around the side of the shuttlecraft faster than Peter would have given him credit for. Peter tried to keep his voice neutral when he said, "Why do you ask?"

"I just..." She glanced after Kashner, then held up one hand. "I thought they would be able to help. I wasn't trying to imply anything."

"Right," Peter said. "I think you've made your feelings about the matter perfectly clear."

"No," Amy said. "I obviously haven't. I don't take issue with the Cortexiphan subjects themselves. What was done to them wasn't their fault. They were children. They couldn't..." She shook her head. "I know everyone thinks I hate them, but I don't. I hate what was done to them."

"Most of them aren't terribly thrilled with it either," Peter said.

"I know," she said softly. "I try to remember that, it's just that what was done to them is wrong on levels that I have trouble with. People shouldn't be tampered with. It's..."

"A sin," Peter finished for her.

Amy looked up sharply.

"I know your background, how you were raised. I'm not sure how you wound up in Starfleet, but I suppose that's beside the point. You have religious objections to genetic manipulation."

She nodded.

"Why did you request assignment on the _Bell_ , then? Why go somewhere that would constantly rub those objections in your face?"

"I thought... I don't know, I thought it would help me understand why someone would do that. And I thought, somehow, I could help the vic..." She bit back the word at Peter's expression. "The subjects."

"They don't need _help_."

"I know. I realize that now. I wasn't thinking about them as people, just as something to be fixed and that was so, so wrong. I don't regret it, though, coming here. I don't think I could be in the same room as William Bell or your father without punching them both, but I'm coming to terms with the crew of this ship."

Peter chuckled darkly. "If you can find Bell, I'm not sure anyone would stop you. As for Walter, well, get in line."

Kashner looked around the edge of the shuttle. "I think I found something."

*****

Sally Clark looked up from her PADD at the chime of her door, then glanced at the time.

"What the hell?" she muttered.

She rose and padded to the door of her quarters, then tapped the control to answer it.

James Falcon stood in the hallway, smiling.

"Ah, good evening, Lt. Clark. Lovely to see you."

Sally frowned. "Lt. Falcon. Uh... can I help you?"

"Oh, yes, probably. At least I've been told that you can."

"Okay?"

"Might I come inside? Not a conversation to have in a hallway, no matter how deserted it might be. Our associates would not be pleased if we inadvertently gave ourselves away." 

Sally swallowed hard and forced herself to not flinch away. She stepped backward and waved Falcon into her quarters.

"Lovely place you have here. And what is it that you're doing with yourself this fine evening?"

Sally held up the PADD, displaying the Intelligence division emblem that indicated the document was classified. "Some of us are working." 

The man who used to be Falcon smiled and Sally suppressed the shiver that wanted to run through her body.

"Very good. It's nice to see such dedication in a new ally. We're going to need a lot more than that, though. To be honest, I'm not sure why we're bothering with you at all, but it's not my call, no offense to you, of course."

"What do you want?"

"This ship will drop out of warp to receive a visit tomorrow, maybe the day after. We like to be flexible, yes? Once it does so, you need to ensure that it will not return to warp for some time."

"Me? You're the one in Engineering. Why aren't you doing this?"

"My mission is different and must not be compromised. If I were to get caught or if the tampering were traced back to me, it would prevent me from performing my primary objective."

"Which is what, exactly?"

"See to the engines, please, Lt. Clark. I truly would hate to be the one to have to eliminate you should you fail to live up to our leader's expectations."

Sally forced a smile to her face and said, "I'll take care of it."

*****

Three days into their journey to Earth, Olivia was starting to regret her decision to travel slowly. The crew was anxious and restless, and their captain was little better.

"Captain."

Olivia looked up from the report she was reading.

"A ship is matching our heading and speed," Ensign Phillips said. "They're shadowing us, sir."

"Identity?"

"It's the U.S.S. _Onslaught_."

Olivia checked with Lincoln who gave a small shake of his head.

"Who has command of the _Onslaught_?"

Lincoln's eyes skimmed over his PADD. "Silvija Denzel."

"I'm not familiar with her," Olivia said.

"Captain, they're hailing us," Astrid Farnsworth called from the Comm station.

"On screen," Olivia said.

It wasn't an unfamiliar face that filled the screen.

Admiral Sanford Harris looked as smug and unappealing as Olivia remembered. His smile was cold. "Captain Dunham. Drop your ship out of warp."

Olivia stared at him.

"Now, captain, or do you want to add to the considerable list of charges against you?"

Olivia nodded to Higgins, who was looking over his shoulder at her. He tapped at his console and the _Bell_ shuddered slightly as she slowed to impulse power.

"Impulse power, Admiral. To what do we owe this visit?"

"Well address it in person. You and your First Officer are to beam over immediately."

"At once, sir." Olivia gestured and Astrid cut the transmission.

"Captain," Lincoln started to protest but Olivia shook her head.

"Let's go." She squared her shoulders and strode to the turbolift. "Charlie, you're with us."

Charlie followed her and Lincoln, nodding when Clark fell into step beside him.

Olivia opened her comm. "Lt. Anthonsen, report to the bridge. You have command until I or Commander Lee return to the ship.

"Uh. Aye, Captain. What's..."

"Astrid will brief you."

"Yes, sir."

*****

Harris was waiting in the transporter room for them, along with a tall woman in a command uniform and far more security guards that were strictly warranted.

Olivia stepped off the transport pad and noticed that all the guards tensed.

"Captain Denzel?"

"Yes, Captain Dunham, although Admiral Harris is the acting captain of this vessel."

"I see."

"Captain Olivia Dunham, you are under arrest for violating the Prime Directive and are hereby relieved of command of the USS _William Bell_. Commander Lee, you will take command until a suitable replacement is found."

Lincoln balled his hands into fists at his sides and said, "You can't..."

"One more word, Commander, and I'll be happy to arrest you as well. Take her to the brig."

The _Onslaught_ 's security officers stepped toward Olivia and Charlie started to move. Olivia reached out and put her hand on his arm.

"No. Stay with Lincoln."

Charlie shook his head. "Liv..."

The guards turned Olivia and cuffed her hands behind her back. She met Lincoln's eyes. "Take care of the _Bell_."

Behind her Harris said, "Lt. Clark, welcome aboard."

Sally's eyes flicked to Olivia's briefly before she said, "Thank you, Admiral."

The look on Olivia's face when Sally crossed the room to stand next to Harris made Lincoln's heart hurt. The guard pushed Olivia toward the door.

"You're to report to Starbase 83 and wait there for orders, Commander Lee. Congratulations on your promotion."

Lincoln opened his comm. "Lee to transporter room. Beam Francis and myself back to the _Bell_."

There was a long moment of hesitation before Kashner responded. "Aye, sir."

*****

Peter was waiting for them in the transporter room.

"Where is she?"

Lincoln stepped off the transporter pad and braced his hand on the back of the control console. His voice was hollow when he said, "Captain Dunham has been detained on the _Onslaught_. I've been placed in command of the _Bell_."

Peter lunged at Lincoln. "You fucking traitor."

Charlie was between them before Lincoln could react. "Stand down, Bishop."

"I didn't have any choice!"

"You left her there with that bastard," Peter snarled.

"Harris would have thrown me in the brig, too, and then what good would I have been to her?"

"Um," Kashner said. "Where's Lieutenant Clark?"

Charlie glared at him and shook his head.

Lincoln opened his comm. "Lee to all executive staff. Meet in the captain's ready room immediately."

He snapped the comm closed and shoved past Peter to leave the room. Peter and Charlie followed, leaving Kashner to stare after them.

The turbolift opened and Nick bolted out, running into Lincoln. "What the _hell_?"

"Olivia's..." Lincoln started.

Nick waved his hand. "Arrested, yeah, but what happened to Sally? She's... Panicked or something, she's..."

"With Harris," Lincoln said, guiding him back into the turbolift. "Bridge."

"What?"

"She stayed with Harris. She's working with him."

"No, that's... Ahh!" Nick rubbed his forehead. "God, she's just hammering me."

Lincoln tilted his head. "I didn't know you could... hear her? I thought it was just Olivia."

"I can't, really, at least not specifics. It's different. We're just... close, so what she feels is amplified." Nick blushed.

They filed into the ready room. Milo and Brandon were already there, and Frank followed close behind them.

Lincoln sank into his usual chair, leaving the head of the table open. "Olivia's been arrested and detained on the _Onslaught_. We're to report to Starbase 83."

"No. No, that's not right," Milo said.

"I don't like it either, but..."

" _No_. It's not _procedurally_ right. None of this is right."

"He's got a point," Charlie said. "This whole thing is hinky."

Whatever Lincoln was going to say was lost when Nick stood abruptly, his chair clattering to the floor behind him.

******

The corridors of the _Onslaught_ were empty during the walk to the brig. Olivia was flanked on all sides by guards. She tried to keep her thoughts calm against the growing wave of worry from Nick.

Behind her Harris said, "I've been looking forward to this for quite a while, Dunham."

Olivia kept her eyes on the back of Sally's head and muttered, "You're apparently not the only one."

"Yes, it must be disappointing to have one of your own betray you. It's a testament to the justness of our cause. Lieutenant Clark can see the big picture."

The door to the brig whisked open, and the guards gestured toward the cell with their phaser rifles. Olivia hesitated and looked around the room, eyes darting from one guard to the next.

Sally laughed. "You really think you stand a chance?"

Olivia stepped into the cell, holding herself still when a guard came up behind her and released the cuffs. He pushed her farther in and backed out.

"Enjoy your stay, Captain," Harris said. "We've taken steps to ensure your containment."

The forcefield shimmered into place, and the emptiness in her mind was so alien that Olivia didn't process it immediately. Then it hit her like a physical blow and she staggered, clutching at her head as she howled in pain. When her vision cleared, she launched herself at the shield.

She slammed her fists against the shield and sparks glistened over its surface. She yelped as the screen shocked her, pain lancing up her arms. She staggered back and panted, retreating until she backed against the wall. She slid to the ground, fighting the sobs that wanted to tear from her throat.

"A pathetic animal," Harris said. "I don't understand why Newton thinks you're of any use to us."

"What did you do to me?" Olivia rasped.

"We've developed a method of varying spatial harmonics that's proving very interesting in its applications. We have great expectations. Always good when a theory bears out. We had no way to test this before your arrival."

Harris turned, dismissing her utterly, and opened his comm as he left the brig, guards trailing behind him. "We have her. Proceed to the rendezvous point."

Sally glanced back once, her face impassive, then followed Harris from the room. When they were gone, Olivia lowered her head to rest on her arms, hugging her knees close to her body.

*****

Nick staggered away from the table. "She's gone."

"Nick?" Lincoln asked.

Nick keened helplessly, then shrieked, "They killed her."

Lincoln came around the table, reaching for Nick's shoulders. His fingers brushed the skin of Nick's neck and a wave of fear washed over Lincoln so strong that he cried out. Behind him he could hear the others talking, shouting, but his awareness was consumed by the terror of utter loss.

Then the terror turned to absolute, blinding rage. Lincoln snarled and shoved Nick away from him. Charlie stepped in between them and Lincoln launched himself at the Security Chief.

"Code Amber medical emergency in the Captain's Ready Room," Frank shouted into his Comm.

Lincoln screamed in rage and swung wildly at Charlie, his punches connecting out of luck rather than any focused intent. Someone grabbed him from behind and hauled him away from Charlie. The door to the ready room opened and medical personal rushed in.

"Sedate Lane," Frank barked.

James Heath darted across the room and knocked Nick's flailing hands away, pressing a hypospray to Nick's neck. James caught him as he slumped to the ground.

Lincoln panted, going limp in the hold that Frank had on him. Charlie shook his head and then lifted his hand to his bleeding mouth. Fayette uncurled slowly from the ball he'd rolled into, nodding as Nurse Higgins spoke softly to him.

Lincoln nodded and waved Stanton off. "I'm okay. I'm… what the hell just happened?" Lincoln looked over to where James crouched over Nick's prone form.

"Did something happen to Nick?" Heath asked.

"I don't know _what_ happened. He was so afraid. _I_ was so afraid. He said…" Lincoln looked up, horrified. "Nick said that Olivia was dead."

Lincoln pushed himself to his feet and nearly ran to the bridge.

"Hail the _Onslaught_."

"No response, sir," Astrid said.

Lincoln slammed his fist down on the arm of the command chair. "Dammit, what the hell is going on over there?"

"Sir, the _Onslaught_ is preparing to go to warp," Phillips

"Follow them. Prepare for warp," Lincoln said.

On the viewscreen the _Onslaught_ shimmered as if in a heatwave, then disappeared. 

Lincoln's mouth dropped open. "They _cloaked_?"

A shudder ran through the ship, lights dimming to emergency backup levels. 

Lincoln looked around the darkened bridge. "What the hell was _that_?"

"Sir, engines just went off line. We're on backup power and life support. "

Lincoln slammed his fist down on the comm panel on the command chair. "Engineering!"

Peter sounded frantic over the comm. Alarms shrieked in the background. "All main systems just initiated complete diagnostic restart."

" _What_? Why?"

"Unknown."

"How long until they're back up?"

There was silence for a long moment before Peter said, "It's a forty-seven minute process."

"Make it faster," Lincoln demanded.

"I _can't_. It's an automated diagnostic routine that's not even supposed to be able to _activate_ when the ship is in flight."

"Then why the hell is it doing it?" Lincoln rubbed at his face.

"I'll give you one guess."

"Sally," Lincoln muttered into his hands.

The bridge crew looked at Lincoln, horrified, and he winced at his lapse. "Do what you can, then report up here. We'll meet when the diagnostic cycle is over."

*****

Lincoln looked around the table and said, "What do we have?"

"Given the delay between the _Onslaught_ cloaking and our sensors coming back online, we've lost them. I'm sorry, sir," Fayette said

"How's Nick?" Lincoln asked.

"Unconscious," Frank said. "I'm keeping him in an induced coma until I have a better idea of what happened. If... if he's correct about Olivia... I don't know that it will ever be safe to wake him."

"He's wrong," Lincoln said firmly.

"I hate to contradict you on this, but their connection to each other remains functional when Olivia hops universes." Frank rubbed a hand over his face. "I think it's entirely possible that Nick is right."

Lincoln shook his head. "I'm not going to accept that until I have more evidence. Did Nick cause any harm to anyone?"

"The other telepaths onboard were distressed, but they're recovering now that he's unconscious. Nick overwhelmed them. Selek was especially bothered given his age and sensitivity, but he's doing well thanks to his parents." Frank frowned a little but said nothing else.

Lincoln nodded. "Peter, you said you'd found something on the shuttle?"

"Kashner noticed that while the communication logs on the shuttle had been wiped of actual content, the outbound connection logs were still intact," Peter said. "He and Astrid traced all the communications back to a single subspace relay station. What's interesting is the amount of data the logs indicate was transmitted. It's huge. After checking with Lt. Commander Warner, we found that it correlates to the amount of data outbound from the starbase."

"Communications were being routed through the shuttle?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah." Peter nodded. "Everything that went out through the base's Starfleet subspace transmitters. There's no record of the shuttle ever coming on base, and the log were only set to be stored for forty-eight hours, so we have no idea how long this has been going on."

"Where's the relay?" Charlie asked.

"Section 18," Peter said. "There's not much there. The relay is unmanned."   
Lincoln tapped his fingers on the table. "There's no way to track the _Onslaught_?"

"No, sir," Fayette said.

"We'll go to the relay," Lincoln said, "and..."   
"No," Peter snarled. "We're not abandoning her."

"We can't help her from here," Lincoln said. "I don't like this either, but if we can find where the shuttle came from..."   
"We don't even know if it's _connected_ ," Peter said.

"You really think it isn't?" Charlie asked.

Peter clenched his fist and pressed it against his mouth.

"We have to do _something_ ," Lincoln said. "We can't track them and following the orders that Harris gave us accomplishes nothing."

There was silence around the table and Lincoln looked startled by what he'd just said. He shook his head slowly and said, "I'm not ordering any of you to do this."

"Commander," Charlie said, waiting until Lincoln looked up at him with wide eyes. "We're with you."

To Lincoln's surprise, Milo Stanfield nodded in agreement and said, "It's statistically unlikely that Admiral is following Starfleet orders. He's deviated too far from protocol for that to be the case."

"I'm not sure that makes this any less treasonous, but that's good to know," Lincoln said. "Lay in a course for the relay station, maximum warp. Dismissed."

Stanton lingered at the table. "Commander, I know this isn't a good time, but if I could have a moment."

"Um. Sure."

"When Nick was projecting uncontrollably, we had no reports of psi-null crewmembers experiencing anything other than a heightened emotional state. They felt afraid or angry for no discernible reason."

"Okay. I don't see..."

"I saw how you reacted. It was considerably more than a heightened emotional state."

Lincoln shrugged. "I was closest to Nick, I touched him. Maybe that caused it. Why is this important?"

"It's…" Frank shook his head. "Just be aware of anything that seems off and let me know about it, okay?"

"Of course."

*****

Olivia looked at the brig door opening but didn't move from her position on the floor, back pressed into the corner of her holding cell.

Sally glanced at the guard, then crossed the brig at his nod. She opened a hatch on the side of the cell and placed a bundle of clothing inside it. Olivia pushed experimentally at it, but felt only the hard barrier of the shield. Sally closed her side of the hatch and only then did the interior side open.

"Change. Now. You don't deserve to wear that uniform anymore."

"How long?" Olivia asked.

Sally shrugged. "What makes you think I was ever on your side? Change, or I'll have them flood the cell with Anesthizine gas and we'll do it for you while you're unconscious."

Olivia pushed herself up from the floor. 

She pulled the clothing from the hatch and stripped to her underwear, ignoring the guard who turned to watch. She tugged on the loose shirt and pants, wincing as the waistband scratched at her skin.

Sally smirked. "No declarations of vengeance? Oaths of retribution?"

Olivia shrugged. "What do you want to hear? That I'll escape? You already know that. And you know that Harris is only going to keep you alive as long as you're useful to him. You never were very good at planning ahead."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Olivia tilted her head. "I can understand why you'd want to hurt me, but Nick?"

Pain flickered over Sally's face before her expression became impassive.

"Enjoy your stay on the _Onslaught_ , Olivia. It's a hell of a lot better than what they have planned for you."

After Sally left, Olivia huddled on the narrow bed, her back to the door of the brig. She fished inside the waistband of the pants Sally had given her and pulled the thin loop of fiber free, keeping it close to her body to shield it from view. She smiled at the wall.

*****

It was well into Gamma shift before Olivia rolled slowly from her side to her back and turned her head to look at the officer at the guard station. He was absorbed in his datapad, watching the flickering screen.

Olivia curled her fingers around her wrist, checking to see that the loop of conductive fiber was still coiled there. She'd spent hours pacing the cell earlier, watching the guard's reactions to his viewscreens and her movements until she was certain that there were no motion sensors in the space. Now she fluidly slid from the narrow bed and crouched on the floor. She rose and crossed the small space, pulling the fiber from around her wrist.

She looped the fiber into a circle and held it near the screen, taking a deep breath before pushing her hand forward. The screen crackled as she closed the loop with her fingers and pain lanced through her arm. The sound caused the guard to turn, looking for the cause of the noise rather than immediately raising an alarm. Olivia took a bare second to pity him before pushing through the hole in the shielding to reach out for the pulsing electrical field of his mind. She overloaded him like she would any other electrical system, and the man slumped to the floor. Olivia felt her way through the security console, her mental hold on the shield threatening to slip as she extended her ability. She found the circuits in question and pushed against them until the shield fell.

She leaned heavily against the bulwark and tried to think around the pounding in her head. She staggered forward to roll the guard to his back, fingers pressing to his neck, seeking a pulse. It was weak and thready, but there. She rested on the floor for a moment, hands braced against the cold metal, then fumbled at the guard's side for his phaser. Her hands were shaking as she adjusted the phaser's setting down to a cutting beam.

Olivia pressed her fingers to her forearm, feeling along until she found the tiny bump beneath her skin. She moved the phaser over the bump, hissing at the pain. She squeezed at her skin until the transponder popped free. She left it on the floor of the brig and headed to Sickbay.

*****

Like the rest of the ship, Sickbay was eerily deserted. Olivia went straight to a medicine dispenser, fumbling briefly when she was confronted with a security lock. She pressed her hand to the screen and scrambled the system, smiling weakly as a loaded hypospray tumbled out. She pressed it to her neck and sighed in relief as the headache abated enough for her to start to think her way through her plan. She spun at the sound of the door opening, phaser leveled.

Sally held up her hands and stepped slowly into Sickbay. Her left arm was bloody from the deep gouge in it.

"Olivia, Let me explain."

Olivia kept the phaser trained on Sally. "I don't really have time for that right now. I'm a little busy." 

Irritation flickered over Sally's face. "Then either shoot me or let me help."

"How did you know where I'd be?"

"I guessed." Sally shrugged. "Figured you'd have a Cortexi-hangover. Listen, Olivia, we have to stop this ship. Shapeshifters aside, they have a cloaking device onboard."

"How did they get cloaking? From the Romulans?"

"It's not Romulan," Sally said. "I think they brought it with them."

"From _where_?"

Sally looked up at Olivia. "I honestly don't know. Harris didn't trust me. Someone else is giving him orders. Probably Newton. That's the name that Timothy said when was looking at the shapeshifter device. Harris has mentioned the name a few times."

"And you don't know who that is?"

"No. I couldn't find out. I did try. They're not keeping any of their information in the _Onslaught_ 's computers. The crew doesn't have any idea that Harris is a traitor. They know something is wrong, though. They've been under general quarters since Harris came on board."

"How many are with him?"

"Five that I know for sure. Two in Engineering, one in Security, one in Ops, and a civilian."

"They're all shapeshifters?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know how to tell."

Olivia nodded. "We need to disable the ship. I don't know where we're heading, but it sure as hell isn't Earth."

"If we can get it to drop out of warp, I can buy us some time."

Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"Let's just say I've been putting my Intelligence training into practice lately. Um. Sorry about the _Bell_."

Olivia looked up sharply. "What did you do to my ship?"

"Nothing permanent. Peter will be pissed, but nothing will get damaged unless it's something he punches. He really should work with Nick on anger management."

"Okay, let's..."

"Wait. There's something else. We need to get a message to the _Bell_. There's a shapeshifter onboard."

" _What_?"

"I tried to let Nick know, but everything happened too fast. I can't give him specifics like you can. It's Falcon. I don't know how long he's been there."

"Are there more?"

Sally shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. I'm not very good at this spying stuff."

Olivia rubbed her forehead. "Bridge first. We can disable the ship from there and get a message away. Then we find Harris."

"Sounds like a plan."

*****

They moved quickly, checking each intersection for opposition before continuing toward the bridge. The halls were empty.

"This is weird," Olivia whispered.

Sally nodded. "It's been like this the whole time we've been here. Harris has confined all non-essential personnel to their quarters."

"What does Denzel think of that?"

"Not much, from what I can tell, although I haven't been able to actually talk with her. What's she gonna do, though, disobey a direct order from an admiral?"

Olivia just raised an eyebrow at that.

"Yeah, well, anyway the ship is running mostly on automated control. Maybe we should try and find Denzel so she can keep us from getting killed by the _Onslaught_ 's crew if we run into any of them."

"Speaking of, we should stun people," Olivia said. "I don't want to kill any one that shouldn't be killed."

"Yeah. Uh, can shapeshifters be stunned?" Sally asked.

"We'll probably find out soon," Olivia said. "Nice thinking with the fiber, by the way."

"Thanks. Figured the brig sensors wouldn't be looking for that."

The lights in the corridor dimmed and an alarm sounded. Emergency lights came on and strobed red.

"Guess someone noticed you're missing," Sally said.

They rounded the corner leading to the bridge turbolift to find Captain Denzel standing at the turbolift. The control panel was hanging from the wall. Denzel's head snapped up and she spun to face them, grabbing her weapon from the floor near where she was working.

Denzel leveled her phaser rifle at Olivia and asked, "What the hell is happening on my ship?"

"It's... complicated," Olivia said.

The tip of the rifle dipped as Denzel shook her head. "No shit?"

"We need to find Harris," Sally said.

"Get in line. That bastard had me locked in my quarters."

"How'd you get out?" Olivia asked.

"How'd _you_ get out?"

Olivia smiled. "Fair."

Sally nodded at the open turbolift panel. "If you're trying to bypass the security lock, you need to jump the third circuit relay, not the fourth."

Denzel looked back at the panel, then at Olivia and Sally. "What did Harris want with you?"

Olivia hesitated, then said, "It's..."

"Complicated." Denzel finished. She lowered the rifle completely and said, "Get this door open."

Sally slipped past her and set to work. Olivia leaned against the wall and watched, rubbing at her temples. Sally glanced up and asked, "Are you okay?"

Olivia lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Headache."

Sally dropped her eyes back to her work. "How close are you to dropping?"

"I'm fine."

"Dammit, Olivia."

"I'm not that bad." She glanced at Denzel and said, "Haven't exerted myself that much."

"Hmm." Sally nodded and said, "Got the door. Think anyone's inside?"

"Let's find out," Denzel said.

She and Olivia flanked the door. Phaser blasts flew past them when it opened.

"Stand down. That's an order!" Denzel shouted.

More blasts followed and Olivia said, "Don't think they're yours."

Sally stood next to Olivia and said, "Give me some covering fire and I'll get in, get line of sight on them and take them out. Once I'm in there, stay behind the bulkheads." She looked over at Denzel. "Seriously, don't follow me."

"We need them alive," Olivia protested.

"We need to be on the Bridge more," Sally countered.

Denzel looked back and forth between them. "What are you talking about?"

"I can..." Sally was cut off as another volley of phaser fire came from the Bridge. "Don't have time to explain."

"Go," Olivia said.

Sally ducked low as she entered the room and Olivia leaned out into the doorway, firing at the most likely positions in the room. The air around Sally started to shimmer and Olivia ducked behind the bulkhead, squeezing her eyes shut and hoping that Denzel was doing the same.

Heat rushed out from the Bridge, scorching Olivia's exposed side. She winced at the pain, then sighed in relief as the heat dissipated as quickly as it had started. Olivia darted around the bulkhead, glancing at Denzel who looked stunned but unharmed.

Sally was standing in the center of the Bridge, swaying slightly. Smoke filled the air, rising from charred remains. The smoke smelled like burning electronics. The deck around the remains was stained with soot, but there was little other evidence of what had happened.

"You okay?" Olivia asked.

"Dizzy, but yeah." Sally looked around. "I think I kept it away from everything important." She went to the Comm station and sat down, tapping at the screens.

"What the hell?" Denzel asked, sounding awed.

"Let's get a status on the ship's systems," Olivia said. "We can explain later."

Denzel nodded.

"Everything's locked out," Sally said. "Comm looks the weakest." She dropped to the floor and pulled one of the maintenance panels free. "I can crack this pretty quickly."

Olivia looked at Denzel. "Why your ship?"

Denzel hesitated, then said, "With her poking around it's only a matter of time until you find it. We have an experimental warp drive on board. It's capable of sustaining warp 8 for extended periods of time."

Sally whistled.

"And the cloaking?" Olivia asked.

"That's new to me."

Sally looked up from the Comm station and said, "Internal comms are working now."

"All hands, this is Captain Denzel. Intruder alert Baker Two. Security respond immediately."

Sally slid form the chair and pried open the front of the Comm station. "They've set redundant locks on most of the major systems, but I think I can brute force my way past them.

The ship shuddered hard, tossing Olivia and Silvija to the floor. Sally swore as her head cracked against the edge of the panel, then said, "That wasn't me."

"They must be in Engineering," Denzel said.

Olivia nodded, then turned to Sally. "Can you contact the _Bell_?"

"Not yet. I haven't been able to bypass the lockout on the subspace communication interface."

The door to the bridge opened and the three women spun toward it, weapons raised at the security detail that entered.

"Captain," the lead crew member said, smiling in relief.

"Stand down, Commander Aysu," Denzel said.

Aysu and the other looked around the bridge, eyes lingering on the charred bodies. "Sir...?"

"Harris is the one we're after, and all the crew that came onboard with him. Round them up." Denzel pointed at a crew member behind the security officers. "Help her get the external Comms working."

"Captain," Olivia said, "there's a possibility that Harris and his people are... impersonating members of your crew. They may not look like they did when they came onboard."

"How is that possible?" Denzel asked.

"We don't know, exactly."

"Olivia, if he's in Engineering..." Sally started.

"He could take out the ship. Work with them to reestablish control of the ship. I'll find Harris." Olivia looked up at Denzel. "Sorry, Captain, habit. With your permission..."

"Go." Denzel motioned to two of her security officers. "Aysu, Pahlke, you're with Dunham." Denzel caught Olivia's arm as she moved to leave. "My crew..."

"I know. I'll do everything I can to ensure their safety." Olivia nodded to the two officers and said, "Let's go."

*****

Olivia paused outside Main Engineering, letting the two _Onslaught_ crew members catch their breath from the run.

"I'm not sure what Harris is after, but I don't think he'd hesitate to destroy the ship if he's cornered."

Pahlke nodded, but Aysu asked, "Why would an admiral destroy a ship?"

"That's something we need to ask Harris," Olivia said.

The lights in Engineering were off, the only illumination coming from the strobing red emergency lights and the warp core itself. There were bodies just inside the door, lying in pools of blood. Aysu swore under his breath. Olivia gestured for Aysu and Pahlke to fan out and flank while Olivia proceeded toward the warp core. The core gleamed blue laced with green that swirled out from the center. Someone was standing silhouetted against the core.

"It's over, Harris. You can't get out of here."

"You of all people should know that isn't true."

Harris lifted his hands, the glow at the center of his palms dull in the light of the warp core. Olivia pushed her ability toward him, trying to short circuit his nervous system before he could finish the movement. What she felt was more alien than any non-human she'd ever encountered.

Harris screamed, body contorting as he staggered toward her. From her left, phaser fire streaked across the room, catching Harris on the shoulder, splitting his skin and exposing liquid metal underneath. A second blast hit his hand, leaving a gleaming mess of metal and flesh.

Harris lunged at Olivia. His fist caught her across the cheek, the hard metal edge slicing into her skin as they tumbled backward. The skin around Harris' eyes sagged, showing silver beneath it.

"What did you do to me," he shrieked.

Olivia shoved him away from her, pushing with her mind as much as her body. Harris staggered backward, an aborted scream gurgling in his throat. Olivia pressed against the resistance, forcing circuits to close. The sound coming from Harris' throat became a mechanical whine, escalating until Olivia pressed her hands to her ears. Lightning skittered over his skin, then flashed outward, blinding.

Olivia sank to her knees, just managing to brace herself on her arms instead of slumping to the ground. Aysu knelt next to her and opened his comm.

"Aysu to Captain Denzel. Harris is... dead."

"I need to get back to my ship," Olivia said, voice raspy.

"You need to get to Sickbay," Sally said over the comm.

"No, I..." Olivia tried to stand and failed miserably.

Aysu got his arm under hers. "We'll get you home, Captain."

*****

"Approaching Relay Station 87, sir," Higgins said from the Nav station.

Lincoln looked at the image on the screen. "Status?"

"Emergency power only."

"Life signs?"

"None, sir," Astrid said. "The station isn't responding with an automated hail, nor are the life support systems responding to our commands to start up."

Lincoln looked at Charlie. "Take a team. Find out what's over there."

Charlie nodded. "Jessup, you're with me. Astrid, you up for comm diagnostics?"

"You always take me to the nicest places, Charlie."

He grinned and opened his comm. "Kashner, ready three environmental suits and prepare for transport to the relay station."

"Aye, sir."

*****

The room they materialized into was lit only by the lights on the away team's environmental suits. Jessup aimed her light up toward the ceiling to the dark emergency lighting.

"That can't be a good sign," she muttered.

Charlie tapped the side of his helmet and said, " _Bell_ , we online here?"

"We're receiving audio and video, Commander," Ensign Chen said over the Comm.

"Good. Stay together," Charlie said. "Astrid, where should we start?"

"The main control center for the relay should be ahead and to the left," Astrid said.

Jessup nodded and started down the dark corridor, turning to follow Astrid's directions.

"There, that's the control room, "Astrid said.

The room was filled with equipment that was haphazardly stacked and linked.

"Whoa," Astrid said. She turned in a circle and looked at the cabling that snaked around the room.

"'Whoa' good or bad?" Amy asked.

"Whoa, that's a lot of equipment that doesn't belong here," Astrid said.

Astrid sat at the main terminal and tapped at the screen, pulling up multiple diagnostic and informational panes. She opened her tricorder and tied it into the relay system, watching data scroll rapidly across its screen.

"The modifications are extensive," Astrid said. "This hardware is specced for a much larger system, like one of the main Intelligence relays, not an outlying repeater like this. It's processing exabytes of data, most of it heavily encrypted. The source points are... all over the place. It's not just acting as a local relay, it's pulling in communication from all over subspace."

"A listening station," Charlie said.

"Who's been listening?" Amy asked.

"I can back-trace the outbound subspace signals, but it'll take time to sort it out. I'll need some help."

"Okay, _Bell_ prep a Comm diagnostic team to be ready to come over here when we get the environmental controls up. Is there a command center here?"

"Yes, up a level," Ensign Phillips said over the comm. "Turbolifts are still down, but there's an access shaft just outside of the room you're currently in."

Astrid said. "I can stay here and get started..."

"Nope," Amy said.

"Better if we stay together for now," Charlie said.

Their footsteps echoed dully as they climbed the metal ladder. When they entered the control room, there was a body slumped against the control console, dried blood covering its chin and chest.

Astrid's voice was shaky. "That's Admiral Harris."

"Commander, you seeing this?" Charlie asked.

"Affirmative," Lincoln said. "We'll send over a..."

Chaos erupted in the background as emergency klaxons sounded on the _Bell_.

"Lincoln?"

Kashner's voice came over the comm instead. "Away team, prepare for emergency transport."

He was barely finished speaking when Charlie felt the transporter beam envelop him.

Charlie blinked at Kashner and pulled off his helmet. "What the hell?"

"I think you should get to the bridge. We have company."

*****

On the main view screen, Mitchell Loeb lounged in the command chair on the bridge of an Orion ship, looking bored. 

"Turn the Cortexiphan test subjects over or we'll disable your ship, kill the crew, and take the subjects. It's your choice, Commander, I have no preference one way or the other.

Astrid cut the audio at Lincoln's gesture.

"Options."

"They look worse than they are," Peter said. "This class of Interceptor is slow to turn and their targeting systems are crap. They look intimidating so that they don't have to fight in the first place. Our friends stole the wrong ships."

"I don't want to know how you know so much about Orion ships."

"Just trust me on this. We're still gonna get destroyed, but we can take all three of them down with us."

"Mr. Higgins, evasive. Tactical, fire at will."

"Francis, give me vectors of attack."

Charlie nodded from the Tactical station and said, "Incoming to your station."

Peter's comm chirped, then screeched with static.

"Shit," Peter muttered. He jabbed his finger at the comm panel on the Engineering station and demanded, "Engineering, what the hell is going on down there?"

The comm stayed silent. Peter looked up and met Lincoln's worried eyes. He shook his head and said, "Nothing."

"Go."

*****

Peter skidded to a stop next to Tanzer at the main engineering console. "Status."

"He used some kind of frequency modulator to override the comm security. We've got the lockout cleared, but the bastard got away into the warp core shaft. Zhev went after him. He was heading down to the main reactor."

"That can't be good. Okay, stay here, keep things running."

Alf nodded. "Aye." He looked up at Peter. "Be careful. He's armed."

"Of course he is," Peter muttered. "Because there's nothing dangerous at all about firing phasers near the damn warp core."

At the junction between decks, Zhevaar was laying against one wall. Peter knelt next to Zhevaar. The Tellarite's eyes fluttered open and he muttered something that the translator ignored. Peter opened his comm and said, "Medical emergency, Engineering deck five. Use caution."

Peter continued down the corridor, climbing the ladders between levels as quietly as possible until he reached the main core deck.

James Falcon was crouched in front of one of the plasma relays, reaching into the open panel.

Peter moved forword, keeping his steps quiet on the metal decking. He picked a hyperspanner up from a table as he approached. Falcon turned just as Peter swung the hyperspanner, and the blow caught Falcon across the cheek, spinning him to the deck. Sparks spilled from the panel, crackling in the air.

"Bastard," Falcon spat, lunging at Peter, the palms of his hands glowing red.

Peter ducked to the side, swinging at Falcon again when he passed. "What were you doing to the ship?"

Falcon turned, silver liquid dripping from the slash across his face. "Making a few adjustments. When I leave, it'll blow this miserable ship to nothing." Behind him the warp core whined alarmingly. The glow coming from Falcon's hands intensified, losing the red cast and edging into bright white. Peter launched himself at Falcon, grabbing him around his chest. They hit the railing around the core, teetering there for a moment before toppling over.

The impact forced the air from Peter's lungs and for a moment he lay on the deck, dazed. Overhead, plasma arched around the core, crackling in the air. 

Peter pushed himself up, wincing as pain lanced up one arm. A few meters away, Falcon lay on the floor, head twisted at an unnatural angle, liquid silver spreading around him. Above the ringing in his ear alarms screeched, nearly drowning out the computer's voice warning of warp core ejection. Hands grabbed him upper arms and dragged him upward.

"Falcon," Peter rasped.

"No time," Alf said as he slung one of Peter's arms over his shoulder. Charlie Francis did the same on his other side, and Peter bit back a scream at the pressure on his arm. The three of them staggered through the emergency door. Peter sank to the floor when they released him.

Peter looked over his shoulder as the blast door came down, sealing the core. There was a deep rumble as the ejection sequence started.

"He's out, sir," Tanzer said into his comm. "The core is sealed and being ejected."

The ship rocked, pitching Peter back to the deck, landing him on his injured arm. His vision went dark, spotted with tiny points of light. Peter rolled onto his side as the ship shook again, harder this time. He pushed himself up, sitting with his back against the wall, cradling his arm against his chest.

Lincoln's voice came over the comm and said, "The core just detonated."

"How many Orion ships left?" Peter asked.

"One, and it's damaged."

"We'll do what we can to boost the impulse engines."

"Understood."

Alf looked down at Peter. "You should go to Sickbay."

Peter reached a hand out and winced as he was pulled to his feet. "You should find me something to use as a sling and help me increase power to the impulse engines."

*****

Lincoln closed the comm to Engineering and said, "Status."

"We have structural damage on decks 7 through 9. Crews are responding," Charlie said.

Astrid said, "Still no response from the remaining Orion ship. It took heavy damage when the warp core detonated. No life signs."

Lincoln nodded and said, "Can we beam over..."

"Sir! Ship uncloaking off starboard." Ensign Phillips' face was pale. "It's the _Onslaught_."

"Shields up," Lincoln barked.

"Sir..." Higgins said. "We don't have shields."

"They're hailing us," Astrid said softly.

Lincoln stood and squared his shoulders. "On screen."

The screen blinked on, showing the bridge of the _Onslaught_ and her captain. Beside her, looking weary and with a wicked gash on her face, stood Olivia.

"Commander," Denzel said, "I believe we have something of yours."

Olivia smiled and demanded, "What did you do to my ship?"

There were cheers around the bridge and Lincoln grinned.

*****

Stanton lowered the medical tricorder away from Olivia's face and said, "You really should have had this treated sooner."

"Sorry. I had more pressing matters to attend to." She looked anxiously across Sickbay to one of the private rooms and said, "Please..."

"Come on," Frank said, leading her to Nick's side.

Frank pressed the hypospray to Nick's neck and stepped back, watching as Nick blinked his eyes open. Olivia stepped close and curled her hand around Nick's wrist. Nick turned toward her and she slid her hand up his chest to touch his face.

"Olive?"

Olivia stroked his cheek, fingers sliding over his skin as their connection slotted back into place.

"I'm here. Nicky, I'm here."

Olivia leaned toward him and Nick's hands came up to slide around her back and tangle in her hair. She crawled onto the bed, mindless of anything but the comfort of Nick's body pressed to hers. She twisted onto her side and Nick followed, and they lay face to face, foreheads resting together.

A blanket settled over them and Olivia looked up, startled. Stanton smiled down at them and said, "Get some sleep. Both of you." He dimmed the lights in the pod as he left.

Olivia inched forward and nuzzled her face into Nick's. He kissed the bridge of her nose and said, "I thought you were dead."

"That's what it felt like. I knew what happening and it was still awful. I can't even imagine, Nicky..."

He tightened his arms around her. His mind wrapped around her as well, pushing everything else away until the only thing they were aware of was each other.

Olivia let her eyes close and felt Nick's eyelashes brush her face as he did the same.

*****

Nick was already awake when Olivia opened her eyes. She smiled.

"Hi."

"Mmm. Hi." Olivia yawned. "How long did we sleep?"

"Couple hours, I think."

"I suppose we should get up."

Olivia brushed through the place in her mind where Nick connected to her one more time, reveling in the warmth of their connection. She made an unhappy sound when she brushed up against cold anger.

"Sally had her reasons," Olivia said.

"She lied to us."

Olivia sighed and pushed herself up, sitting on the side of the bed. "She was trying to protect us. All of us."

Nick sat next to her, pressed against her side. "She told you that?"

"Yes."

"It's not like you to take her side in things."

"I think... I haven't always been fair to her."

Nick turned and looked at her. Olivia felt him very deliberately pulling himself away from her, retreating to their usual self-imposed distance. He said, without a hint of accusation, "I think that's how they meant for us to be."

Olivia leaned into his side.

"I think you and Sally are too similar. You're both leaders - you always have been. When Dr. Bishop brought the two groups together, you were his favorite and you sort of took over. They needed someone to be strong for all of us and it was you. Sally's always felt second best."

"I know. I never wanted that."

The door to the pod hissed open and Olivia and Nick looked up.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Nick and Olivia said together.

Frank shook his head. "Of course."

"A little bit of a headache," Olivia said.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, me too, but it's not all that bad."

"I'd like to run a few tests on both of you, just to be safe."

Nick's fingers clenched around hers, and Olivia wondered if there'd ever be a time when a doctor mentioning tests wouldn't send a wave of fear through them. She squeezed Nick's hand and said, "Let's get it over with, then. We have a lot of work to do."

*****

Olivia leaned back in the seat on the shuttlecraft, enjoying the small moment of peace. The _Bell_ had limped home to Earth, escorted by the _Onslaught_ and later the _Dauntless_ , and was now docked and undergoing repairs. In the seats behind her she could hear Peter describing the promised upgrades with glee.

The shuttle rocked gently as it touched down and around her people stood and started collecting their bags. Olivia waited for the aisles to clear before she departed. Peter and Lincoln were standing just outside the exit waiting for her.

"Slowpoke," Peter said.

Olivia looked across the port at the group of people - most in command red - walking toward them. Admiral Broyles lead the group and smiled when he stopped in front of her

"Welcome home. _Captain_ Dunham."

Olivia swallowed against the sudden tightness in her throat. "Thank you, sir." She smiled and impulsively darted forward to hug him. 

Broyles chuckled. "You need to stop scaring me like that, Dunham."

She pulled away from him, too happy to be embarrassed. She looked at the imposing figure behind Broyles and said, "It's good to see you, too, Dr. Bishop."

Bishop's eyes were on the person standing behind her, though. "Peter."

"Hello, Walter."

A slight woman with short red hair stepped forward.

"Captain Dunham. I'm Maricela Conkling, Starfleet Intelligence. You and I have a lot to talk about."

*****


End file.
